Nairn County's Alan Pollock aims to silence former Clach team-mates
Former Lilywhite favourite Pollock is still close friends with Clach regulars Michael Finnis and Martin Callum and expects stick if the hosts emerge victorious tomorrow.
Since swapping Grant Street Park for Station Park two years ago, Pollock has become a regular in the Nairn side that has pushed up to the top end of the table. He does, however, still have a soft spot for his former club, where he spent more than five years.
Pollock scored in the first meeting between the two sides this season, one which Nairn went on to win 4-3 after two late penalties by Conor Gethins. He would happily take a repeat this time around to avoid any wisecracks from his former colleagues.
“I don’t want to come away with anything less than three points, otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it,” said Pollock. “I’m good mates with Michael and Martin, I speak to them quite a lot but I definitely need to get one over on them this weekend.
“I enjoy playing there because I get a bit of stick from the fans. But I give as good as I get. I get texts off mates that are Clach fans trying to wind me up, but it’s all part and parcel of football.”
This season Pollock ticked off one of the items on his wishlist by playing in a cup final. When he made the switch along the A96, he managed to miss out on two in one season. Nairn reached the North of Scotland Cup final against Brora in October 2013 while Pollock was still at Clach. After he left in January 2014, Iain Polworth’s side went on to win the Highland League Cup in the following May.
He expressed surprise at how the Merkinchers have struggled this season and offered thoughts on what may be behind their slump.
“I thought they would be doing a bit better,” he said. “Over the last three years, they’ve lost better players and from what I see, they’ve not really brought anyone in.
“It’s a results business and unfortunately that puts pressure on Iain, who I still get on with. The criticism he’s got is harsh. He does a lot for the club and I’ve seen it first hand.
“He did well a few years ago to get us challenging for the title without much of a budget – I think most of us he’d brought through himself or signed from amateur football. We were all close friends off the park and socialised outside of football. I don’t know if that happens now or if guys just turn up and play.”
The bond he experienced during his years at Clach he says is being replicated with the Wee County.
“We’ve got guys that live in Inverness and guys that live in Nairn – we have nights out in both places,” added Pollock. “Everyone is very friendly and there’s no animosity.”
There is no question that Nairn come into this game as the form side, having lost just once in their last 10 games. That loss to Keith grates with Pollock. However, the 2-1 win over Brora that followed was a more than adequate tonic.
The challenge now for Pollock and company is to repeat that over the coming months to give Nairn a chance of cracking the top four.
“We slipped up against Keith, where we should be taking three points,” he said. “It was a case of it being Christmas, boys were out and no-one was at the races. But barring that result we’ve been on a good run.
“We’ve taken a few thumpings from Brora over the last couple of years, so everyone was delighted with that result. If we replicate that performance we can beat anyone but we need to get the mentality right. The manager switched things about against Brora and you have to give credit to him because it worked. We matched them all over the park.
“I’ve been pushed forward a bit more lately and that benefits my game, but I’m usually wing-back in a 3-5-2 and I just have to deal with that.”